A Different Scene
by Sylvia Angelbourne
Summary: It's whole new different world to the Ducks as they struggle with a new school system and class differences. JA Fic
1. Default Chapter

A Different Scene  
  
Disclaimer : The Mighty Ducks were created by Steven Brill and owned by Walt Disney Pictures.  
  
This story starring the Ducks puts them in a very different situation and different environment. They attend a school (not Eden Hall) which carries a different school system. In this story they're in 10th grade. I guess the rest of the story will explain the rest.  
  
Chap 1 : Look at You.. HaHa..  
  
Julie's POV  
  
"Julie get up!" someone shrieked from the bathroom. She rolled over, her eyes still shut. "Julie!!!" came the voice again, even louder this time. Or maybe, in a higher pitch. 180 decibels. No. Make that 200.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  
  
Damn, that girl can scream. What time is it anyway? She opened her eyes and tried to focus on the red digits on the dresser. 5.46? AM? Oh God.. when was the last time she was woken up early? Then she remembered. First day of school. Normally she loved school. Because she was good at it. But NOT when it had to start at 7am. Yes, some idiot head from the government had this stupid idea to "discipline teenagers". More like a severe case of insanity.  
  
"You've got to see this! I look.. ugh!" Connie screamed again from the bathroom. I threw aside my blanket and trudged to the bathroom down the hall.  
  
"What?" I half-opened my eyes and yawned. "Look at.. THIS!" she yelled. Now I was wide awake. She looked.. plain. Not ugly or awful or anything like that. But, just not.. HER. And her, is tall beautiful Connie who always looked great in anything. My best friend, to be exact.  
  
"What is that?" I asked incredulously. My mind started reeling. Why was she wearing that to school? A white button down collared shirt and a plain blue skirt that hung halfway down to her feet. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid. The ickiest thing was the maroon tie. Not to mention a little nametag which she had pinned on the left pocket of the shirt?  
  
"Hello? Our new uniforms?" she practically shrieked. "I look like.. a nun!"  
  
Oh.. our uniforms. Wait, uniforms? Now that had totally slipped my mind. I stuffed mine in the closet as soon as it was delivered to us. I hadn't even looked at it yet. I rushed to put it on. When I looked in the mirror, I felt like dying. At least Connie looked decent in it. I could pass off as a freak. A nerd. I looked awful!  
  
"Err.. Julie?"  
  
"What?" I whirled around, startled by the voice. Obviously, she'd gotten over it. "Sheesh.. don't scare me like that." I felt very awkward in the whole attire. How was going to face the rest of the Ducks?  
  
"Sorry.. Just that you've got your skirt the other way round.." she covered her mouth and tried to stifled a laugh. I looked back into the mirror. Right, I had the zipper in front of the skirt instead of the back. I turned bright red with embarrassment. Stupid skirt.  
  
"Don't you girls just look so cute in that!" Mrs. Moreau squealed as we descended the stairs. I cringed. Isn't it a little too early for the "little sunshine" act? Connie grimaced, "Thanks a lot mom."  
  
Mr. Moreau snorted from behind the newspaper he was reading. "I think it's sensible." That's Mr. Moreau for you. Mr. Practicality. Normally I loved his gruffness and straightforward attitude, but not when I look like this. I'd be laughed right out of school. I just know it. I moved in with the Moreaus ever since I started attending Crossway High in Minnesota. I could've stayed back home. But I wanted to keep playing hockey with the Ducks. Being with a different team would feel totally weird. So far it's been cool. But that didn't mean I liked everything there was about this household. Mrs. Moreau was too girlish for me and Connie's brat brother was just as annoying as my own, only maybe worse. Still, it felt like home. Almost.  
  
I glanced down at my plate. We were having French toast for breakfast. Why did Mrs. Moreau have to whip up my favourite food when I just didn't have the appetite? I tried to tune out as Connie starting whining from across the table about how ridiculous these uniforms were. I wish she would just shut up. She didn't even look half as bad as I did. Matt, the evil brat was teasing her and making funny faces. I poked at my plate while I thought of a way I could get out of this. Before I knew it, we were already in the car. And I was stuck.  
  
A wave of dread washed over me as Connie and I walked up to the school gates. Mr. Moreau had lectured us all the way to the school about concentrating on our studies and playing hard in hockey and keeping away from boys. Well, not the other Ducks, but well, you know what I mean. I hardly need to explain. He was directing this part of the speech to Connie mostly. Why weren't we surprised? The only guy he liked and approved of was Guy. And as we all know, they'd broken up months ago. But that wasn't my first concern at the moment. Not when I felt someone tapping me on the back.  
  
"Hey babe!"  
  
I winced. Who else? It had to be Portman. One of these days, I swear I'm going to kill him. I just hope we won't miss him too much when we go up against the Drake Pointers. Those guys were brutal. My arm was still sore from the deliberate crash into the goal from one of them.  
  
"Stop calling me babe!" I yelled at him. I turned around completely so I could kick him in the shins. But then I remembered suddenly, I was wearing a skirt. Partly because it felt strangely airy and a little cold and another because of the sight of Portman in his uniform. Like us, he was wearing the same button down collared shirt, tie and name tag. But because he was a BOY, he got to wear these army green pants which were straight cut. He looked like a nerd. My first instinct was to laugh at him, but I was fully aware that he was staring at me as well. Like he doesn't see me in practice everyday.  
  
"Haha! You look... like... hahahhahahhah!" he started laughing. I shoved him and grabbed Connie by the arm. I didn't stop until we'd climb the 3 levels of stairs to our classroom. I released her when I noticed she was glaring at me.  
  
"What was that for?" she asked, nursing her arm. "Sorry," I mumbled and smoothed my skirt. I tried to figure out a way to make my shirt look tidy. Sheesh, the material was so thin you could see your bra through that. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and I screamed on impulse. I was a wreck of nerves this morning.  
  
"Hey.. hey.. take it easy Gaffney. What's the big idea?" asked Charlie as he came up from behind. "Oh I see," he pointed at our uniforms and snorted.  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?" Connie asked defensively, hands on hips and glared menacingly at him. I could tell she was just as uncomfortable as I am.  
  
"Nothing! Just that you look like.. nuns," he said, not bothering to control his laughter at this point.  
  
Connie stamped on his foot and stormed into the classroom. "Ow! Cool it lady.. I was only.. hahahhahaha.. joking," he laughed some more. I threw him a disgusted look and walked into my own classroom which was next to Connie's. In addition to the new uniforms, one other thing that they'd changed was the class arrangements. Instead of changing classes after every subject, we were stuck in one classroom for the entire day. They divided us into classes according to our grades. Just my luck, most of the Ducks were in the next class. The only upside to this system was, instead of ending at 3 in the afternoon, school let out at 12.40 noon.  
  
Standing in front of the classroom, I suddenly felt self-conscious again. I felt a dozen pairs of eyes staring at me. I felt like a trapped mouse. Where do I sit? I tried to scan the room for a familiar face. Calm down.. calm down.. just find an empty chair and hide behind it.  
  
"Julie!" someone called out behind me. I could've jumped six feet into the air until I saw who it was, then I wished the floor would just open up and swallow me in. Not only because I knew I looked horrendous but because he looked breathtakingly handsome in his uniform. I know, how could anyone look good in that? But he did. That's just one of the amazing things about Adam, he looked gorgeous in ANYTHING. Or maybe that's just the way I saw it. Adam Banks could do no wrong. He was perfect in my book.  
  
"Hi," I smiled and waved at him awkwardly. He stared at me as if he'd never seen me before. I held my bag to my chest, hoping to hide whatever that he might be looking at. Not that he was looking at anything in particular but I just wanted to make sure that.. oh well.. He blushed and looked at the floor. I blushed too. Now what? Were we going to stand there till the teacher comes in? I hope not. But I couldn't think of anything to say and strange enough, my feet were permanently nailed to the floor.  
  
The door swung open and practically knocked Adam into me. I clutched the nearest table to keep myself, and Adam from falling over. "Hi guys! Ready to roll?" Guy popped out from behind it, oblivious to the crash that he'd caused. Now I was positive that everyone who was in the classroom was staring at the little commotion. Adam quickly got up and regained his balance. He was still blushing. And from the heat radiating from my face, I knew I was as well.  
  
"Ready like Freddie," he muttered and grinned sheepishly at me. I glanced away hurriedly and set my eyes somewhere else. Anywhere else, as long as I didn't have to see those pale blue eyes. Before I got trapped in them again. We quickly found seats in the middle of the room. A few seconds after we'd sat down, Kenny joined us. The guys started a heated conversation on last night's game. Minnesota Waves vs. New York Rangers.  
  
I drifted into my own thoughts. We were the only 4 Ducks in that class. That's the luck you get for "studying too much" as Averman had kindly put it a week ago when we found out about the arrangements. Was it a crime bring an A student? He, Goldberg, Portman and Fulton were in the third class. And guess how the classes are named? 10A, 10B and 10C. Right, as in A for A students and so forth. Of course, we were Science students. So that makes us 10A Science I guess. How original.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam glance at me. No way. It couldn't be. He didn't like me that way. But there it was again. This time he was staring at me intently. I looked over at him and he quickly turned away. I kept looking at him till he had no choice but to look my way. I looked at him questioningly. He leaned forward towards my face. My mind raced to figure out the possibilities. What was happening? Was he going to kiss me in class? I could feel my heart thumping louder and louder. I hope no one hears that. Then he whispered into my ear, "I think you look cute in that uniform." I nearly died. He blushed again.  
  
"Umm.. thanks?" I whispered back. I could feel myself turning red too. I'd pay a million bucks to the person who invents an anti-blush sprayer. I was going on and off like traffic lights. We pulled apart suddenly when the door slammed and a teacher walked in. I glanced nervously at Guy and Kenny in front of us, hoping that they hadn't noticed the little scene which had just happened right under their noses. But they were busy shuffling their books to the right page. I stole a peek at Adam beside me hoping for a sign that it all hadn't been just a dream a minute ago but he was searching his bag for the book. Which reminded me, I hadn't even opened my bag yet. I sighed as the teacher started his monotonous drone. Physics. Great, my all time favourite subject. This was going to be a long day. 


	2. My Angel

A/N : Hi everyone!!! Thanks a million for the reviews!!!!!!!!!!! =) Ok.. I guess I need to clear a few things. First things first, I have no idea why the Ducks are in a different school. I just felt like it I guess.. hehe.. maybe they transferred. Or maybe they didn't go to Eden Hall in the first place. But I guess the latter makes more sense. You'll see when the story goes on because the Ducks aren't exactly strangers to the students in their school. Second thing is, I'm sorry about Connie and Guy not being together. So.. there's a choice. Hands up for those who wants them back together? Of course, I'll have to think of a way for them to get back together. Third, I had to wear a uniform when I was in high school. Is that the case of anyone else? That gave me an idea for this fic. Also the system in this fic is based largely on my own experiences in high school, like the separate classes we had based on our averages. Just as a side note, I was a B student.. so.. hehehe.. Lastly.. thanks again for your reviews and gooooooooo Adam~!!!!!!! Hahah.. as you can tell.. I'm a big fan of his..  
  
Chap 2: My Angel  
  
Ken's POV  
  
I watched as Mr. Creston paced up and down in front explaining something about force and reaction. Anyone looking at me would have thought that I was deeply immersed in the lesson beforehand. They would be wrong. I wasn't listening at all. In fact, I didn't even have a clue what he was talking about. I guess he was another one of those people who had to become a teacher because he couldn't get a job elsewhere. The minute he stepped into class he made it clear that he hated teaching.  
  
"I'm Mr. Creston. I'll be teaching you physics. This is a tough subject so if any of you think that he or she can't cope, then please do me a favour and drop this subject because I don't have enough time to waste outside class for extra pointers or help. If you really want to follow up, I suggest you make some friends in this class or you're all on your own." This was all said in a gruff and bored tone. If he'd wanted to make sure that no student approached him for questions then he'd certainly succeeded in that. No way was anyone going to bother him after that. Stupid teacher. You'd think that they would at least provide the best class with a good teacher. Or even any teacher that was interested in teaching.  
  
What everyone doesn't realize is, I'm not as bright as they thought I was. I worked doubly hard to get there. Not just in studies. But in every single thing I do, including hockey and figure skating. My life isn't as easy as people make out to be. Like Banks, my dad is a terror. Not because he's trying to pressure me or anything. But I guess that's what Asians are like. Totally disciplined and organized. Always the obedient ones. In my opinion, no wonder we get our asses kicked for frequently than other people. And that's why I get picked on easily. Because we don't fight back. Not that we didn't have any pride. It's just the way we were brought up to be. No fights. The first time I ever really punched anyone was during the Junior Goodwill Games. My dad gave me hell for that when I got home. My grandfather looked so disappointed. He said that good men don't fight with their fists. I took that meaning to another light. That was why I bugged Russ to teach me trash talking. Grandfather never said anything about dishing verbal assaults, just physical.  
  
"Kenny! Kenny?"  
  
"Huh?" I turned to my left. Guy was leaning across the aisle, bent towards me.  
  
"You have any idea what he just said?" he asked frantically. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see sprawling handwriting all over his book. Wow, I was amazed that he actually found stuff to write. My page was clean. He was still looking at me expectantly.  
  
"Err.. sorry.. I didn't catch that," I answered him before he could freak out. Then he turned behind to ask Adam instead. They started a whispered heated discussion on the topic. Figures. They were brains.  
  
I turned my attention back to Mr. Creston who was now scribbling something on the blackboard. I couldn't make head or tail of it. I stared at my textbook. It still didn't make any sense. Oh well, I thought as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, I'd just get some idea of it from Julie during break. That's right. At the back of my head I could still picture grandfather's face as he said, "To get the grain you must reap and sow the crop." Boy, do I have some sowing to do on this subject.  
  
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Luis's POV  
  
"Bla.. bla.. bla.. bla.. bla.." That was all I heard from the teacher. Man, there wasn't anyone grumpier than he was. He walked right in, scribbled his name, Mr. Creston, and the rest he said, I never heard because right then the most beautiful girl I've ever seen walked in.  
  
Hey, don't get me wrong. I just believe that a man's gotta appreciate true beauty when he sees it. And I'm a REAL man. I believe in beauty and of course, love. I'm a man of love. I, Luis Mendoza, the resident "pretty boy" is a picture of beauty itself. Being able to look good doesn't mean you're gay, because the last time I checked, I don't get turned on by guys. It's just essential to bring out one's beauty, where the inner-self reflects upon the natural physical charms, which I might add, I happen to have.  
  
"Class, this is Lorraine Matthews. She just transferred from St. Mary's. I hope you'll all welcome her to our school," said Mr. Creston in a bored tone. "Just take a sit anywhere," he told her and gestured to the class. She looked a little nervous and perhaps intimidated. And it was my duty, as prince charming, to save my princess the embarrassment. I quickly raised my hand, "You can sit here beside me." They don't call me the speedster for nothing. In cases like this, I knew how to move fast too. All around me Connie, Charlie, Russ and Dwayne snickered. I ignored them but my princess flushed bright red. Man, was she cute or what? This was lucky day alright.  
  
She flopped down in her seat and gave, what I thought, was a sigh of relief. I watched her as she settled down. Her hair was a mass of dark curls which looked incredibly sexy. I loved girls with that kind of hair, not to mention that I happened to have dark curls too. See? We were a match. She had a really small and delicate profile. One that would fit mine perfectly. As she flipped open her book, I noticed that she had a habit of rubbing her nose as she did. Then she withdrew from a case, spectacles. Cute scholarly look. I wondered what type she was as I held out my hand. She looked surprised.  
  
"Hi, Luis Mendoza," I said smoothly, flashing her my signature smile. Crooked to the left side and slightly lifted. She stared at me for a second, the shade of red growing darker and darker when she finally whispered, "Hi." I was sure I heard the voice of an angel. She turned her attention back to the teacher but I could tell that I'd made an impression on her. Then Russ tapped her on the shoulders. I glared at him. What was he trying to do? He winked at me. I frowned and creased my eyebrows. I sure hope he wasn't saying anything bad about me. But I forgot all about that when she opened her mouth to speak. All I could do was stare at her lips. They were soft and tinted with pale pink gloss. I wondered at what they would feel like on my own. I licked my dry and chapped lips. Hopefully, it won't be long before I find out.  
  
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Finally the bell rang for break time. We had precisely 20 minutes of rest. Gee, what fun. The bunch of us waited outside 10A for Ken, Julie, Adam and Guy. They didn't look too happy when they came out.  
  
"What?" Charlie asked anxiously. The four of them exchanged glances. "We've got like," said Guy and he stretched his arms at least a meter long, "at least this much of homework."  
  
"You must be joking?! For first day of school? Man, I cannot believe that!" said Russ, shaking his head in disbelief. We walked down the stairs slowly.  
  
"No joke. It's true. The teachers here are evil," said Ken with a sigh.  
  
"You're kidding. We don't have any homework at all," Averman said with a grin. I thought, thank God we only had a small piece of composition to do for English. But in a way, I was beginning to notice the huge difference between the standard of each class. Was that even fair? Don't get me wrong, I don't really like school but I like to do as well as I can. The intelligence works off well on ladies. That's how you impress them. You see, they flip out if you're good-looking and intellectual. The perfect package. But now the school's already treating us like we have limited capabilities compared to the first class. What am I going to do if the girls start searching for the smarter men? Was I going to be second in line just because I was in the second class? That really sucks. But I suppose that's what you get in a public school. I guess I'd just have to..  
  
"Yo, Lorraine!" Russ yelled suddenly. But he didn't have to do that to catch my attention because I already saw her. I'd recognize that dainty face anywhere. She looked over at us and started walking over. Great, now was the chance to work my charm skills on her. The only big catch was, there was a boy walking beside her. Competition eh? Bring it on! I've never lost. Hey, it's only natural. I'm Luis Mendoza. I opened my mouth to say something smooth but strangely, my mouth went dry, and all I could do was stare as she and the boy approached our table.  
  
"Yo.." she replied slowly and smiled. "Russ right?" she clarified. Then she turned to me expectantly, as if waiting for me to say something. "Um.. err.. hi.." I whispered. She blushed, so did I. That was a first. Naturally, the whole gang went silent and stared at us. And it was only natural that they made room for her and the boy at the table. Then it also seemed perfectly normal for me to gape at her as she started to speak. I was mesmerized by her quiet manner. Again I thought about how she resembled an angel. My angel at least. As she bit into her sandwich I was barely aware of what the others were saying. All I could do was stare at the perfect creature sitting a few seats away, smiling politely at everyone and timidly answering the many questions that they fired at her.  
  
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"Mendoza! Hey! Yoohoo?? Anybody home?"  
  
I vaguely noticed that someone was calling my name. And as she disappeared around the corner, I snapped out of my trance and fell back to reality. Recess was over and I hadn't touched my food. I stared down at my sandwich. It was already starting to look soggy. I quickly wrapped it up and threw it into the bin. Who could think of eating when you had such a beautiful image to look at? Oh well.. it looks like I got some work cut out for me because clearly, she was attached.  
  
"Didn't you listen to a word we said? She's not attached," said Russ. Huh? She's not?  
  
"The guy's her brother. Ian. Ian Matthews," he emphasized on the word "brother".  
  
"Oh," was all I could say in response.  
  
"And a cute one at that," Connie gushed beside us. Guy scowled and walked off in a huff. But she barely noticed. Poor Guy. He's taking it really hard. I wished those two would get back together. Not because of anything else but the fact that the way it was going, the team's concentration was shot. At least, Guy's was. The break up had affected his game, and it was showing. I felt it enormously, because we were on the same line. There were times when the puck was not where it's supposed to be. He would be thinking about something else and I would be waiting frantically and the half life to bring it down to the goal only to watch as the other team steals it away from under his nose.  
  
Connie continued to chatter, letting out a squeal occasionally as we trudged back to class. Clearly, she was smitten by Ian Matthews because he was soooo gorgeous and soooo sweet. But I can think of someone else who beats him by far. As we walked into class, my eyes fell on her again. She stared steadily into her book, glasses and all, her face buried with focus. I watched as her brow wrinkled up in concentration. I liked the way she bit her lips as if that would help her understand the text better. Again, I wondered what they would feel like on my own. Wow, she's too cute for words. I couldn't help but think that we're in big trouble because now I had a reason to let my mind wander off during practices and games. I just hope the others forgive me because I had fallen for this girl. Hard. 


	3. Umm Umm

Chap 3 : Umm.. Umm..  
  
Adam's POV  
  
Whoop! She was smiling at me! I always remember how beautiful her smile was. And when it was directed to me especially. What should I do? Say something. I opened my mouth to greet her.  
  
"Hi – !"  
  
"Hey Fulton! Where were you during lunch? I've been looking for you all over the place!" she said and walked right past me.  
  
Oh wow. I've been snubbed. Not a good start. Just when I actually decided to speak to her too which was something I've been having problem doing lately. I mean, I've always been a little nervous, if not, scared to talk to her. Not because she was mean or anything. She was the sweetest girl (Ok, maybe apart from Connie, you can't get any sweeter than that) on earth. But that's the thing. I don't have a crush on Connie (Heaven forbid or Guy will probably make sure I don't see my 16th birthday), I have a serious crush on Julie. And somehow my tongue just gets tied up every time I see her. Like the first time we met.  
  
--- Flashback ---  
  
"Hi! I'm Julie," she smiled prettily at me. I knew I was gawking at her. But I couldn't help it. I've never seen a girl like her. You have to admit, you'll almost never see many girls playing hockey in a lifetime and probably not ones that look like this. Either she had this weird aura shining around her head or I was plain smitten. She was waited for a reply and obviously, confused because I couldn't put two words together.  
  
"Hi," I said and nodded at her. Smile, I remembered saying mentally. But my muscles were frozen. She gave me a weird look, "Well, see ya around!" Then she went to get acquainted with the rest of the Ducks. So much for first impressions. She must think I'm a dork.  
  
--- End Flashback ---  
  
I took off my shirt and tossed it into my already messy locker. Behind me I could hear her talking animatedly to Fulton about our last game. What was the matter with me anyway? I mean, it's just Julie right? I've known her for like, 4 years right? Why can't I put together a decent sentence every time I see her? I rummaged around for the shirt that I kept for practice. At my luck, it's probably buried deep down at the bottom of the pile. ************************************************************************  
  
Julie's POV  
  
Oh. My. God. Someone must've died and made my day. Either that, or I was dead and in heaven. I hoped nobody was looking because I was staring at Adam as if I've never seen him before. But as truth holds, this was actually the first I'd actually gotten a full view of his body. Normally someone else was in the way or he'd already changed. Even though I was listening to Fulton talk, or at least, pretending to, I couldn't tear my eyes away from those perfect abs. You could see how his muscles contracted when he stretched his body to search his locker. I couldn't help wondering how they would feel under my own touch. If I could just reach over..  
  
"Did you see that guy's face when I fired that shot at him? It was like ka pow! And you could practically hear him hitting the ice, like WHAM!" said Fulton excitedly.  
  
"Uh-huh," I nodded slowly at him so he thought I was listening. But I was barely paying attention because then he turned around with the shirt in his hands and I was getting first class seats to the front view of his body.  
  
"Eh? Earth to Julie? Like I said –"  
  
"Sorry Fult. Some other day maybe," I cut him off. I knew I was being pretty rude but I had to go over there before I burst. As I approached him he was struggling to put his shirt on.  
  
"Is it hot in here or is it just me?" I blurted out without thinking.  
  
Did I really say what I just said? I wanted to smack myself. I swear he was blushing beneath that shirt.  
  
"I mean YOU. Is it just you.. I mean me.. arghh.. You're sweating! Like a pig," I finished lamely. He finished putting on his shirt and looked at me. He had been blushing. That was obvious. It was cute. Almost. I would've enjoyed that if it weren't for the fact that I was blushing too. Again, where is that anti-blusher thing?  
  
Ok. Stay calm and try to talk to him. So? Say something! I scolded myself inwardly. But I wanted him to say something as well. 'Well what do you expect him to say? You came up first' I heard a voice say. 'I know. But what do I say??' I screamed back. I knew I must've looked like an idiot standing there and having this debate play over and over again in my mind. And Adam was looking at me expectantly.  
  
"Um.. here! You could use this," I said quickly and grabbed a random towel off the bench and tossed it at him.  
  
"Huh?" said his eyes as he caught it deftly.  
"For the sweat!" I reminded him. As he wiped himself up, I couldn't help but notice that his neck was really long. But not scrawny like a typical boy's. It curved at the correct place and fitted him perfectly. Hey, he was perfect right? Yeap, he's perfect alright and I still had nothing to say.  
  
When he finished he laid the towel down. "Was there something you wanna say?" he asked and flashed me a boyish grin. The one I liked to see. Shy and really cute. The one I fell in love with.  
  
"Umm.. no. Just saying hi. You know? Err.. so.. hi!" I said to him and quickly turned around before I could embarrass myself any further. Way to go Julie. Now he must think you're the planet's weirdest weirdo who studies on Friday nights and weekends because she was too pathetic to get a date from any decent-looking boy.  
  
To my surprise, I felt a hand on my shoulder before I could walk away. Was it who I think it was? I turned around. Yes! Ok.. now.. what does he want? He smiled at me nervously.  
  
"Hey.. umm.. you.. umm..," he stammered. Please ask me out. Please ask me out. Make me the happiest girl alive. Say it and I'll stop every goal there is in the whole wide world. Please, please, please..  
  
"I was thinking.. you free on Friday night?" he said. YES!!! I wanted to scream out loud. Then I remembered.  
  
"Sorry.. I'm busy Friday night," I told him. "Oh, that's ok I guess. Just thought I'd ask," he gave me a small smile. But if you read between the lines, you could almost see his disappointment as his shoulders drooped a little.  
  
"I have a study session with Ken," I explained quickly. All of a sudden, he brightened up like a Christmas tree. If I wasn't so nervous myself I would've laughed at his silly grin.  
  
"Then.. how about Saturday night? After the game?" he suggested. I nodded eagerly. That would definitely make up for missing out on Friday. Then I had an idea.  
  
"Hey, why don't you join me and Ken on Friday? We're doing physics. We could use some help in that department," I smiled at him.  
  
"You sure? I mean.. will that be ok with him?" he asked politely. I wanted to squeeze him. He was soooo adorable when he got all gentlemanly.  
  
"No problem!" Ken piped up. Oh shit. Bloody hell. We both snapped back into reality and saw that the locker room was deadly silent because the whole damn team was staring at us intently. We were live entertainment. I quickly collected my gloves and stick and left the room. I knew I was in for one of Connie's famous interrogation that night. I could hear catcalling and whistling inside as I leaned on the door to catch my breath. I still couldn't believe he actually asked me out. Then a thought stuck me. We were REALLY going out right? Come to think of it, we never said what time or confirmed anything. Ken just took us by surprise at the moment. Great.. just great..  
  
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Adam's POV  
  
Normally I would have already asked them all to shut up but I was too happy to care. The rounds of "Way to go Adam!" and "About time Banksie!" were hardly over. They were teasing me like hell and I was grinning like an idiot. She actually she yes!!!! Ok, she didn't say anything but she nodded. That was almost as good right. The point is, I'm taking Julie out! I wonder where we could go. Maybe just some place casual so that it doesn't get too serious for a first date and scare her off. But then I remembered, we never said what time we would meet, and where. I could figure that out and get back to her I guess. No big deal. Now all I had to do is concentrate on the date itself. It had to be perfect because for once, I was with the right girl. That was the easy part, right? I mean.. how hard can it be?  
  
A/N : Sorry this was such a short chapter I just had to get it down! Hope everyone enjoyed it though! Cheers~ 


	4. Check Out the Competition

Chap 4 : Check Out the Competition  
  
Guy's POV  
  
"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" everyone shouted, getting the crowd going. It was Thursday night at the school rink. Our third match of the season against the Convent Red Crosses was about to begin. I was highly aware of Connie's arm brushing against mine as the team yelled, "Go Ducks!". I settled on the bench and watched as Averman, Charlie, Fulton, Portman skated onto the ice and Adam took the face off. I was hoping to sit next to Connie and talk to her but she had disappeared to the far side of the bench and sat next to Russ, pointedly ignoring me.  
  
The whistled blasted and Adam was knocked down by the Cross' centre. I winced as I heard his helmet contacted with the hard surface of the ice. I hope he isn't going to have one of his accident-prone days again. If you think about it, Adam was quite fragile and delicate on the ice. He wasn't tough like the Bash Brothers obviously, no one is. But you don't see the rest of us obtaining the injuries like he does. A cut on the lip or bruises would be inevitable but he gets things like ankle or wrist sprains and broken ribs. Yes, halfway through the season last year he actually broke his ribs. Or maybe, the guy who checked him in the boards broke his ribs. He ended up in the hospital for two weeks and would've missed the State Championships altogether if Mr. Banks hadn't come up to Coach and talked him into letting Adam play.  
  
"Change it up!" and that roused me from my thoughts. I jammed on my helmet and leapt out of the box. I didn't have to look behind. I knew Connie was skating up fast behind me. Lucky huh? We had to be in the same line. Actually, we've been in the same line ever since we started playing. Connie being a pretty fast skater and good puck handler, and I being able to hold up stamina endurance for a long time. We used to have this unspoken connection and communication system going on in our heads. At times I didn't even have to look behind me and I knew she was there, waiting for the puck. And I knew she felt the same thing. But these days that system seemed to go a little haywire. We were on different wavelengths, sending different vibes, therefore missing pucks and passes which resulted into getting pulled back into second line. To me, it would've been better if were separated. That way, I could at least do the team a favour and actually concentrate on the ice.  
  
Just then the Cross' defense stole the puck from me. "Damn!" I heard someone shout. I whipped around as fast as I could and slammed into Luis who was apparently trying to chase after the puck. We both slipped in a pile towards the defenseman and "Ouch!" landed in a heap against the boards. "Come on! Where's the concentration?!" I heard Coach yell from the bench. He sounded really mad. Someone skated over and stretched out a hand. I grabbed at it blindly and pulled myself up. I found myself looking into familiar blue eyes. Connie's eyes.  
  
"You ok?" she whispered. Just staring into her eyes made the pain go away. I gulped and nodded slowly. "Yeah," I reassured her. At the corner of my eyes I could see Dwayne helping Luis up. For a moment I thought I could feel the chemistry just flowing between us. But then she averted the gaze and skated away. And it was gone. Was it for real? Or was I just fantasizing again?  
  
"Germaine!" I heard Coach yell again. No time to think about that. I knew Coach was pissed and I was really in for it. I skated over and took my helmet off. "What was that about?" he shouted and glared at me. I was aware of a few dozen pairs of eyes looking at me, the rest of the team in the box, Dean Buckley, some of the school board members and even some of the audience. I stared hard at the floor. I had no explanation to offer. I was about to be embarrassed in front of all these people and I deserved it. The worst I wanted to do was say something to get myself into deeper trouble so I kept my mouth shut.  
  
Coach drew in a deep breath and exhaled noisily. "Son, is there something on your mind I should know about?" he lowered his voice, much to my relief. Anyhow, what was I going to tell him? I couldn't tell him that I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking about Connie 24/7 and the fact that we were teammates made matters worse. What could he do about it anyway? Bench me probably. Anyway, what could I say in front of these people? These were personal matters. No way was the whole school going to get the scoop. "Nothing," I said to him. He eyed me apprehensively. I knew he didn't believe me and he knew he wasn't going to get it out of me. He just looked at me concernedly.  
  
"Maybe you should sit this one out," he said and gestured me towards the bench. I didn't bother too argue. There were too many explanations.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Luis' POV  
  
I raised my hands in victor as the goal wailed. For the second time in my life, I managed to stop right before I smashed into the goalie. The guy looked positively terrified. If I hadn't been concentrating on stopping myself I would've laughed out loud at the sight.  
  
"Way to go son!" Coach Orion said as I took a seat at the bench, panting hard. My teammates patted me on the back heartily, crying out cheers all except Guy who looked pretty subdued.  
  
"What's up?" I asked him. "Huh?" he looked at me like he'd only just seen me. "I just scored a goal," I told him. "You did?" he tried to comprehend. To confirm his thoughts, he glanced over at the score board which read 2 to 1 in favour to us. "You gotta look alive man," I said as I wiped my towel over my forehead.  
  
"Yeah.. I messed up huh?" he said. Understatement of the century! I wanted to laugh and joke about it but he looked really guilty.  
  
"Hey.. it's ok.. sometimes you're on, sometimes you're off. It's just one of those things you know?" I said encouragingly and punched him lightly on the arm.  
  
"Yeah," he said again. I followed his gaze over to the end of the bench. He was looking at Connie who was busy looking at someone in the crowd. I scanned the mob for a possible target. My eyes landed on Ian Matthews. Obviously she was drooling. But that means.. she must be here! I was right! She sat next to her brother, looking quite invisible next to his broad exterior.  
  
"You got a girl in the stands?" I heard Charlie say beside me (familiar line?). I didn't bother to answer him. At that moment I wanted to concentrate every ounce of my energy just looking at the beautiful vision that was sitting there. I wondered if she had seen the goal I made.  
  
"Yo! Mendoza's got a girl in the stands!" he yelled out loud. I turned around and glared at him. "OooOoOoohhh!!!" went the team. They all clambered around us to take a better look at Lorraine. Ian, who was looking at us nudged her and she looked over at our direction. Everyone started whooping and pointing at me. Her eyes widened in shock and she blushed. Ian seemed to understand and laughed out loud. "Shut up," I muttered and quickly averted my glance.  
  
"Ok team! That's enough! Back to the game!" Coach yelled from behind. "Mendoza," he stared at me sternly, "save the girl for later. You got some work to do if you wanna impress the lady. Now get out there!"  
  
"Yes, sir!" I jumped up and saluted him, Marine style, feeling all pumped up with adrenaline. I leapt out of the box with Charlie, Adam, Dwayne and Goldie. Within seconds, I had stolen the puck and was whizzing down the ice in lightning speed. I faked, once, twice and flicked the puck into the goal and stopped neatly before I could crash into the boards again. The buzzer sounded the end of the game. We'd won, 3-1. Two in a row! I raised my hands in victory again and was immediately engulfed by the guys. I'd never felt so alive and I remembered the reason for this. Under the mob, I looked up into the stands at Lorraine. I was about to dedicate my goal to her when a guy I didn't recognize came up to her and started talking to her. It was obvious that he liked her. I could tell by the way he was standing closely to her and smiling at her. I couldn't tell if she was interested, but my ego deflated like a balloon. Not a usual feeling you get after you've scored the winning goal.  
  
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Guy's POV  
  
Everyone had scrambled out of the box and onto the ice doing a victory dance. I tried to join in but my heart wasn't into it. In my mind there was only one picture, Connie staring up at Ian Matthews. Where did he come from anyway? For all we know he could be a stalker or some pervert. I didn't like the way he smiled at her, or the fact that he winked at her while she was obviously making goo-goo eyes at him. It made me feel like she'd just swung a hard blow at my stomach. It still hurt, real bad. Looks like I had just work cut out for me. 


	5. My First Date

A/N: Hi! Just a word to everyone out there reading this story! My apologies because it took me so long to get this one up! And another thing is I'm finding it hard to work every main character I have in this story, Adam, Julie, Luis, Guy, Connie, etc in every chapter just simply because there's too many of them. However, I'll try my best to keep them all balanced throughout the whole story. Meanwhile, thanks to all the reviewers! Enjoy and keep reading! Cheers! =)  
  
My First Date  
  
Adam's POV  
  
I pulled at my shirt making it wrinkle up. Then of course I started spending the next few minutes trying to make the creases straight. As you can tell, I'm nervous. Very nervous. Throughout the entire game I had Julie in my mind. Of course, having her in the goal didn't help much either. Everytime I was on the bench my eyes traced her immediately. Instant magnetism. She was so graceful even under all that bulk. The way her face scrunched into a cute frown as she concentrated on the incoming attacks and the way her long braid whipped in the air as she raised her gloved hand in the air to capture the puck in a graceful arch. The body movements were just sheer poetry. When Luis threw in that goal at the last minute everyone scrambled into the rink celebrating. Someone threw himself onto me and gave me a big hug. I was still registering the shock when Julie smiled and let go of me. "Great game," she said softly. I blinked stupidly at her. She laughed lightly and said, "See ya later." Then she took off into the locker rooms.  
  
I jumped in surprise as someone tapped me on the back. "How long have you been waiting here?"  
  
I turned around with a big smile at the voice. For the 100th time I found myself speechless because she was just radiating. She was dressed simple in low cut jeans and a ribbed top that complimented her curves. She let her long blonde hair flow freely behind her creating a soft glow for her sharp features. I just didn't know what to say. "Is something wrong?" she asked. I realized I was staring at her for the past minute. Embarrassed I tried to put together a sentence.  
  
"Nothing.. uh.. you look great," I managed to say. I could see a blush creeping up her face but it didn't matter, I knew I was blushing too. Why couldn't we just stop blushing for a minute??  
  
"So do you," she replied. I looked down at my wrinkled shirt. Yeah right, I thought wryly. I looked at her pointedly. I could see a smile playing by her lips. Before we knew it, we were both laughing out loud in the middle of the lawn. I think she recovered first because she then said, "Boy, that feels good."  
  
I stopped laughing and tried to catch a few breaths. "Yeah. It was kinda awkward before huh? Let's keep it this way," I replied.  
  
She nodded in agreement, "So where are we going?" She clasped her hands in front of her as we started walking out of the school gates.  
  
"You hungry?" I asked. I wanted to make sure we did something that she wanted.  
  
"Starving. I could eat a horse. That's what good games do to me," she said, "oh my gosh.. I sound like a total pig." She laughed, a little embarrassed.  
  
"Nahh.. it's good to see that you're not obsess about all that diet stuff. Then I'd feel really guilty pigging out in front of you," I told her. I was seriously glad. I just couldn't understand how girls could just go on and on about that. It always made me feel bad eating lots when they felt like they couldn't. Don't ask me why, I'm just weird that way.  
  
"Yeah.. I get all the exercise I need I guess.. but I kinda understand what some of them are going through. How bout that old diner after the park? They serve unlimited pasta and pizza," she suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me." We walked the few blocks to the diner. I held the door open for her, earning a smile. I walked in after her. "Do you always do that?" she asked with an amused smile.  
  
"It's just how I've been brought up I guess. 'Our little Adam is going to grow up to be a gentleman'," I said mimicking my mom's voice. She clamped her hands over her mouth in laughter. I smiled at her as we slide into a booth by the window. I loved making her laugh. A waiter came over and we placed our orders for the unlimited serving.  
  
"Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. But sometimes the etiquette lessons get a little annoying," I explained, "she even tried to get us to learn stuff like which forks go best with which kind of dishes."  
  
"Once a prep always a prep cake-eater," she teased, calling me by my nickname. But somehow, she made it sound funny instead of like an insult. Then her face grew serious and she added quietly, "I wished I knew my mom though." She looked so sad I wanted to hug her and comfort her but that was impossible given that she was sitting on the other side of the booth. So I just settled with patting her on the hand.  
  
"What happened?" I asked her. I thought she was going to burst into tears then but she replied, "She died just after I was born." Now that really surprised me. All this while I'd always imagine her coming from the perfect family, loving mom and dad and all but I was obviously wrong.  
  
"It's ok," I told her and brushed the single tear that was trickling down her face, "you still have your dad. Right?" When that came out of my mouth I wanted to kick myself for being so careless.. what if her dad..? No, it couldn't be.  
  
"Yes, I still have him," she said and I gave a sigh of relief. But the next words she said made me feel like an idiot all over again, "But he's never really been interested in me. I don't mean that he's been abusive or anything because he hasn't. It's just that.. sometimes I think he blames me for my mom's death. That she died because of me."  
  
"Julie.. it's not your fault," I told her, "you know that, right?" I asked just to make sure. Somehow, I had a feeling that she also blamed herself for it.  
  
"But I just feel that.. if it wasn't because of me she'd still be alive. And dad.. he wouldn't have to be so sad all the time. He's always given me everything I needed until now but the one thing I wanted most from him he was never able to," she said regretfully.  
  
"What's that?" I asked fearfully. I felt really sorry for her, I couldn't imagine what could be worse than not having her mom around.  
  
"Love," she told me. "He provides me with everything just because he has to but he doesn't love me."  
  
She went on, "Everytime I see Charlie quarreling with Casey it makes me want to yell at him and tell him how lucky he is. I understand how you feel about your father sometimes but I can't help feel that the way he does all that for you because he just wants the best for you. Because he loves you. And my father will never do that for me."  
  
I didn't know how to answer to that. Simply because I was feeling very very awful and really selfish. To think the way that I wished my father didn't care about me that much to make me do the things he wants me to when deep down inside I knew he loved me. It troubled me to think about how I've acted like total jerk and feeling sorry for myself though I was and will still be far luckier than Julie ever will be to have parents that were always there for me despite the many times I told myself how much I hated them.  
  
************************************************************************ Julie's POV  
  
I was at the verge of tears when I caught sight of Adam's face. He looked really pain-stricken and then I realized how uncomfortable he must be. I thought about how I must've sounded when I said all those things about his family. It was like a slap in his face. I quickly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. It's just that.. sometimes.." But I never finished that sentence because just then, he leaned in and brushed his lips softly against mine. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in the moment. When he pulled away I felt like the sadness that had been weighing me down disappear as I stared into his soulful eyes.  
  
"It's ok. I understand. You don't have to say anything," he whispered just loud enough for me to hear him. Then I thought about how lucky I was to have him. Most guys would've just got up and go away without truly understand what I've just said. I'd just totally insulted Adam and here he was, holding my hands and telling me it was ok because he would always be there for me. And I realized then, I believed him.  
  
Just then the waiter placed two pans of steaming pasta and pizza in front of us. "Come on, let's dig in. Try to think of happier things," he said and squeezed my hands comfortingly for the last time before reaching for a fork. I smiled at him. He was right. This was our first date. It was supposed to be fun not filled with sad stories from the past. He deserved to have some fun after what I'd just told him. I owed him that at least.  
  
"Did I tell you? This is my first date," I informed him. That was the ultimate embarrassing fact but it lightened the mood because he suddenly perked up.  
  
"First date? Like, with a guy?" he asked. I could tell he was really surprised. I suppose I just didn't have that written on my face. Wasn't anything about me obvious?  
  
"Yeah, like, with a guy," I mimicked him. He looked embarrassed, "Sorry, you just didn't seem like the type." 'What type?' I thought, so I asked him.  
  
"Well," he started hesitantly, "you're beautiful and you've got a great personality and everything. I just thought.. you know, guys would be lining up and all that," he finished with a blush.  
  
I was quite flattered at what he said. It was true that a few guys had asked me out, but I didn't want to go out with just any guy. "Well.. I just never accepted," I told him simply.  
  
"Why?" he asked curiously. "Because they weren't you," I said. And he smiled that cute smile I loved to see. I knew I was probably embarrassing us both but I didn't care. I was smiling too.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
After dinner we took a stroll in the park and sat underneath an old oak tree beside the pond. We didn't say anything for a while. Then she started singing.  
  
Sometimes the snow comes down in June, Sometimes the sun goes round the moon, I see the passion in your eyes, Sometimes it's all a big surprise. Coz there was a time when all I did was wish, You tell me this was love, It's not the way I hoped or how I planned, But somehow it's enough.  
  
And now we're standing face to face, Isn't this world a crazy place, Just when I thought a chance had past, You go and save the best for last.  
  
All of the nights you came to me, Some silly girl had set you free, You wonder how you'll make it though, I wonder what was wrong with you.  
  
Coz how could you give you love to someone else, And share your dreams with me, Sometimes the very thing you're looking for, Is the one thing you can't see.  
  
But now we're standing face to face, Isn't this world a crazy place, Just when I thought a chance had passed, You go and save the best for last.  
  
Sometimes the very thing you're looking for, Is the one thing you can't see.  
  
But now we're standing face to face, Isn't this world a crazy place, Just when I thought a chance had passed, You go and save the best for last.. You went and save the best for last.. ..  
  
I stared at her in awe, lost for words. She grinned at me, "What?"  
  
"That was great! I didn't know you could sing!" I told her. I was really amazed. How could none of us ever skipped out on that fact? She was fantastic! "Sensational" I cried out. And truly, it was. I'd never heard anyone sing like that.  
  
"Yeah well.. there are many things you don't know about me," she said, staring at the ripples that were forming on the pond. I thought about that for a moment. I realized that it must be true. I believed that she knew me much better than I ever knew her.  
  
"What's the name?" I asked her. She looked at me, confused. "The song," I indicated, "what's the name of the song you just sang?"  
  
"Oh. Save the best for last. Vanessa Williams," she replied. "Great song," I told her, "first time I've heard it."  
  
"Really? It's one of my favourites," she said. "You know..," she added slowly, "I used to sing that song whenever I think of you."  
  
She turned to look at me. I stared back into her eyes. "So.. the part.. about me loving someone else.. and sharing my dreams with you?" I recited, "was that when I was.. umm.. going out with Jade?" I finished nervously. I knew I had to be right.  
  
"Yeah.. when you would always come up to me with all these problems in your relationship. I have to admit.. that was.. hard for me to swallow sometimes," she said wryly, "Not exactly the easiest job in the word."  
  
"Oh," I didn't know what else to say. And all this while I never knew how much it hurt her. How cruel I was being because I couldn't see that she liked me. "I thought you and Scoo –.. nevermind," I trailed off. That wasn't an excuse. Not even close.  
  
"I see what you mean. But I never went out with him Adam. I have to admit it almost seemed like a possibility at the time. No boy has ever looked at me that way before. All my life I've been hidden behind that tough goalie image. He was the first guy that saw me differently. But I couldn't.. because.. well.. because I liked you," she said without even flinching. At that point I could feel my hand reaching out and brushing a stray lock away from her face.  
  
"I think you're beautiful," I told her. She leaned her head against my shoulder and I kissed her forehead. Then there was comfortable silence as we sat there, probably thinking about how lucky we were finally together. After all the confusion and shyness, just saving the best for last made all of that worth it. At least I knew that's how I felt.  
  
************************************************************************ Julie's POV  
  
"And this one here, I got during fifth grade playing dodge ball," I explained pointing at the 2 inch scar I had on my left knee. Adam and I had sat under the tree for almost an hour now. We starting talking after a while and everything from family, best friend quarrels, pets and most embarrassing moments just popped up easily. Now we were onto injuries and well, in some cases, remnants of injuries. He'd always shown be about 5 and I was still uncovering more and more.  
  
"What's this one here?" I gestured at a spotted patch of skin just below his right knee cap. "This?" he rolled up his pants to see better. "Fourth grade, tag," he said simply.  
  
"Really? Tag?" I asked surprised. How could such a harmless game cause something like that? I swear the patch was at least 5 centimeters long and 3 by width.  
  
"Yeah. Some girl from the sixth came from behind and wham! The next moment I was eating my school yard's sand," he said. "What did you do?" I wondered.  
  
He laughed casually, "I bawled like a baby. Dad was really angry though. He thought it'd give me a bad knee and stop me from playing well." He rolled his eyes at that thought.  
  
"I can't believe it. Adam Banks, star player cried after some girl knocked him down? You've come a long way.." I said jokingly.  
  
"Hey! It hurt!" he protested.  
  
"Baby!" I teased him.  
  
He opened his mouth in mock horror. "Am not!" he gave me a push.  
  
"Baby!" I said again and shoved him. He fell over, his head gently making contact with the tree trunk.  
  
"Ow!" he said and rubbed his head. "Oh, you better run! I'm gonna pay you back for that one!" he warned. I quickly got up and he chased me around the hedges. I was laughing uncontrollably and quickly became out of breath as he caught up with me. It was a long time since I'd laughed so much. He grabbed me by the waist and started tickling me. In attempt to return that, I totally messed up his shirt. Midway through the rough and tumble I caught sight of something that made me stop. His shirt had ridden up a way above his stomach, and on the far right corner I could see a purplish bruise. It looked fresh and I began to wonder if I'd caused that.  
  
"What?" he asked when he noticed me staring quietly. I touched the bruise gently. He didn't flinch or move my fingers away. "What's this?" I asked almost nervously.  
  
He moved my hand away from the spot and grasped it tightly, leading me towards the park entrance. I was beginning to think that I'd touched on a sore subject. Something bad that was related to the bruise. Something he didn't want to talk about.  
  
Then he asked me, "Remember the JV Varsity showdown?" Whatever he was getting at, I certainly wasn't expecting this. I nodded.  
  
"During the last period. I took the block –" he started and I finished, "for me. You took the block for me. Did it hurt?" I asked concernedly.  
  
"Yeah, kinda," he said. I knew it must have hurt more than he let on but he just didn't want me to feel guilty about it. And then he added, "But for you, it was worth it." I felt all warm inside. What he said really touched me.  
  
He smiled at me, "Well, here we are." Without realizing, we were in front of the dorms. He opened the door for me and we stopped in front of my room. "I had a great time," I told him. And I really meant it.  
  
"Not as much as I did," he said huskily. Then I felt his lips brush against mine for the second time that night. I sank myself into that moment. When it was over, I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want the night to end. But when I did he smiled at me, "Goodnight."  
  
"Night," I said to his retreating back. I told myself, if that was all a dream then it's one heck of a dream.  
  
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	6. Connie and Paranoid

A/N : Hi guys!! I'm sorry it's been ages! I just started uni or college if you'd like. So it's been a kinda busy semester for me. Got a few days rest now. So that gave me time to put up another chapter. This is kinda like a chapter for continuity. More about description of the situation rather than the Ducks' thoughts in detail. Nevertheless I hope everyone will enjoy that as well! Please R&R !!  
  
Connie + Paranoid  
  
Connie's POV  
  
"I am so totally screwed!!" I cursed as we walked towards the general notice board. A few students looked our way. "Got a problem?" I glared at them. They quickly walked away. I could be mean if I felt like it.  
  
"I can't believe this! Why –" I turned to see Julie grinning silly behind me. "Hello? Jules? Are you with me?" I waved my hands in front of her face.  
  
"Oh," she flushed. For the first time this morning I realized that she wasn't really herself. When we slid into the car this morning I'd noticed she'd forgotten to put on her socks just before we pulled away from the drive. Halfway through school she suddenly said she'd forgotten her tie and we had to go back to get it.  
  
"Have you listened to a word I said?" I asked her. She flushed again. Obviously not.  
  
"Well, no one's going to sign up if you act like that," she said helpfully as I glared at a girl who had knocked askew the flyers I was carrying.  
  
Who cares? I thought as we bent to pick them up. I'm already in trouble. Early that morning during the first period, Ms. Jamison came by and asked to speak to me outside the classroom. She was the teacher in-charge of our dance club. If I'd expected anything, it wasn't what she had told me then. She said I'd been made the leader of the dance section for our school concert this year because Melanie, a senior who was in-charge had transferred away over the holidays and as assistant it "only made sense" that I took over. I'd been disappointed when I'd only come in second to Melanie last year during the committee elections but now, I'd give anything to have her back. The last time I counted, it was only about 5 weeks away from opening night and I had ZERO plans for the dance performances we, or should I say SHE was suppose to prepare. Other than that I had no dancers, well, not counting the old ones which only added up to 15 or 16 and I needed at least 25 for the 4 routines. I had barely 4 weeks before rehearsals and I had yet to hold tryouts.  
  
"Argh! Replacing her is going to be a nightmare!" I growled as I pinned the notice on the board with a push pin. "No, wait. It IS a nightmare!" I corrected. "Julie..," I said slowly and looked at her earnestly.  
  
"Oh no you don't. No no no no no," she started and held up her hands. "No way. I can't Connie. I'm already on the backdrop design committee. Sorry," she said.  
  
"But you have to help me!" I wailed. "There are like, 40 of you doing that dumb backdrop. Come on.. please.. pretty please?" I begged. Then I reminded her, "It'll increase your chances of becoming a prefect." I knew she'd dreamed of becoming head girl this year. It's just one of the things on her list of "be top student", "get model student award" and all that.  
  
"First of all, it's NOT dumb. Second, I'm going to audition for a part in the play. And third, I've got two left feet if you haven't noticed already," she pointed out. I stopped at that. She was right. I'd forgotten that tiny little fact. Believe it or not, Julie was pretty uncoordinated on the dance floor. To think she'd be a great dancer with her skills on the ice. People are built like that I guess. But Julie is near perfect. Anyhow, I knew she had a point.  
  
"Ok, ok. But you promise to come watch the tryouts on Thursday?" I asked. "I need you to keep the guys in order," I pleaded.  
  
"Alright, alright, anything to make Luis ticked off," she agreed and smiled. Yes, believe it or not. Luis happens to be one of the regular dancers. Other than him, Ken and Guy were also in the group. All three of them were pretty good. Of course, I was better. That's why I'm the leader. I sighed as the bell rang signaling the end of recess. I gathered the rest of the flyers back to class. Yeah, I'm the leader alright. And I'm cursed.  
  
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Luis' POV  
  
"Luis!" I heard a voice call out behind me. I turned around. Connie was booting down the stairs. When she caught up with me she took in a few deep breaths. Ok. Now this has got to be good, I thought.  
  
"Ok –" I opened my mouth to say something.  
  
"No! Not ok! Do you realize what this means? I'm doomed! We'll never be ready! Please tell me you're free Wednesday afternoon?" she said all in one breath. I stopped in front of the classroom door and stared at her quizzically.  
  
"Uh? Connie? What are you going on about here? You paranoid or something? Ready for what? It's only the second week of school. No reason to get all worked up. We don't even have that much homework anyway," I shrugged and went into the classroom. She followed me hurriedly to her seat which was behind mine.  
  
"That's not the point. You know when Ms. Jamison asked to see me this morning?" she started and looked at me expectantly.  
  
"And?" I prompted using my hands. Sheesh, I swear she's getting more paranoid everyday. I always wondered how Guy used to deal with that.  
  
"And??! And?!? And! She made ME captain!" she practically screamed.  
  
NOW I was really confused. "That's a good thing right? Of course, I don't understand why she did that-," she glared at me, "only because Melanie's captain," I finished quickly.  
  
"That's BECAUSE Melanie transferred over the summer and we have less than 4 weeks to come up with something that isn't going to embarrass us in front of the stupid school committee!"  
Ok. Now I knew she is completely paranoid. And not to add the fact that now the entire class including Lorraine who was sitting beside me, was staring at us. We were just lucky that the teacher isn't here yet.  
  
"Shhh.. ok.. shh.." I grabbed her arms to keep them from shaking. "Ok.. take a deep breath," I instructed. She sucked in a deep breath. In and out, in and out.  
  
Just then the teacher came in and everyone else scrambled back into their seats. "Have you told the others?" I asked her as the class greeted the teacher. She shook her head in reply.  
  
I said to her, "Ok, we'll figure this out later." Somehow.  
  
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Guy's POV  
  
I looked up from my textbook when someone knocked at the door. Ok. Every head in the classroom was focusing on the door. It opened. And.. Connie?? She had an 'Oh No' look on her face when she saw who the teacher was. Another head popped out behind her. Luis? Huh? I know for the fact that Connie can't stand Luis because.. well.. she thinks he's a pervert.  
  
Mrs. Gardner, our History teacher was glaring at them from the blackboard. "Yes?" she asked. She hated being interrupted lessons. That's why the class is always deathly quiet during her period.  
  
Connie gulped. "Ermm.. can we see Guy Germaine and Kenny Wu please?" she asked nervously, almost in a whisper.  
  
"Speak up young lady. I can't hear you," came the reply. More scribbling on the board. She wasn't even looking at them now. How rude! I thought.  
  
"I SAID COU-," she began but Luis covered her mouth immediately because Mrs. Gardner had looked over at the loud tone.  
  
"Actually, she meant if we could please see Guy Germaine and Kenny Wu? It won't take a second, we promise. It's an emergency," Luis said sweetly and smiled that sickening smile he saved for girls. Oh boy. He's going to get it now.  
  
To my surprise, Mrs. Gardner returned his smile! Oh wow.. that's.. unbelievable. Obviously that smiled worked on older women too. I really have to ask him for some pointers I thought as I got up from my seat. Ken followed behind.  
  
"What's up?" I asked curiously as the door closed behind us. Connie opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Instead she just went red in the face, like she was about to burst.  
  
"Ok, nevermind. I'll tell them," said Luis and he started explaining, "Melanie transferred over the summer."  
  
"Who's Melanie?" Ken asked. Oops. Wrong question.  
  
Connie glared at him, "Who is MELANIE?"  
  
I could see several heads turn our way through the classroom window.  
  
"Look, you've got to calm down. I don't see what the big problem is here. You've got some ideas right?" I asked her. She didn't answer me.  
  
"Right?" I looked at Luis. He pursed his lips in a tight line and looked at me like a school teacher would look at an 18 year old who didn't know his tables.  
  
"I see.." I said slowly, "Ummm.. how long do we have?" I asked. I didn't want to hear what I knew was coming. I wish Kenny would say something but he seemed deathly quiet. Like he didn't know what to say to that.  
  
"4 weeks!" Connie yelled. She IS paranoid.  
  
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" several people hissed from inside the classroom. I caught sight of Adam's face. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask 'What's going on?'  
  
I signaled 'Not right now'. Then Julie pulled him into a whispered conversation, waving her hands frantically.  
  
I turned my attention back to Connie. She was breathing deeply in and out under Luis' instructions. He looked back up at us.  
  
"We have tryouts tomorrow. In the gym. 2 on the dot. Can you guys make it?" he stared at us intently and pointedly back at Connie who was still slowly doing breath counts with her eyes shut.  
  
"Yeah, sure," I said, shoving my hands into the pockets of my trousers. Ken just nodded numbly. I think he'd gone mute.  
  
At times like this, I had a lot to say. And I guess others just go dumb. However everyone else might react, I hope this news doesn't scare the others off. We're in a big enough trouble as it is.  
  
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Ken's POV  
  
I still could not register what Connie had just told us. I walked blindly back to my seat and sat down in a daze. I stole a glance at Guy. He was strangely calm. Well, for a time like this that is.  
  
When the news sank in I knew all my plans were wrecked. Gone. Finished. I couldn't tell Connie I wasn't on planning to join the team this year. Now I decided, I'd rather face a pack of lions than tell her that. She was obviously not very stable right now and that is putting it mildly. If I get lucky she might just kill me quickly instead of drawing it out longer. But I won't find out I guess. There's no way I can let her know now if I know what's good for me.  
  
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A/N : What do you guys think of the three guys I've put in the dance thingy? Is it just stupid (like, what the heck?) or different? =) Ok.. so I'm thinking now. Should Kenny quit? Let me know in the reviews! 


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